"We have camera systems there now, but they're not in the elevators, they're not in the corridors," Debra Bouchard, director of the Housing Authority, said Monday.

Andre Dumas, asset coordinator at the housing authority, said cameras will also be added to the community rooms and outside the main entrances to the buildings.

"We'll be able to see more of what's going on outside the building," he said.

Miller Gardens has pole lights on the driveway and exterior lights mounted on the building, but the parking lots don't have lights and are dim, Dumas said.

The grant money will cover the cost of adding lights to parking lots on the side and back of the building, Dumas said.

The Housing Authority has to complete an environmental review, create a design for the projects and put out a bid before they can draw the grant money from HUD. Dumas said construction is several months away.

HUD awarded $3 million last week to 13 public housing authorities to address emergency, safety and security at the properties.